Awake
by Koopasaur
Summary: After waking up in the middle of the night, Badgerclops takes to resolving an issue with his cybernetic arm. He couldn't have predicted, though, where his decision would lead him


Badgerclops shot up in the darkness - sweat drenching his soft, dense fur. The large badger trembled, his breaths shaky and irregular. He almost gasped before stopping himself with his fleshy paw. He quickly darted his eyes to the alarm clock on Mao Mao's desk - it's display brandishing a piercing red glare through the darkness of the night.

"_**2:03 AM"**_

Peering down from his bunk, the badger glanced down at his friends. Adorabat and Mao Mao were, luckily, fast asleep. Mao Mao was swaddled in his soft, crimson cape, with Adorabat tucked between the front of his cape and his soft chest. As Badgerclops turned his attention back to his own bunk, he examined the intrusion that had woken him up - his cybernetic arm.

The flesh around the holster that housed his cybernetic arm was swollen - with the fur unevenly displaced over part of the holster. As Badgerclops touched the inflamed area, he almost yelped as a dull pain radiated throughout his body. He took a deep breath before looking towards the doorway. "_I gotta get out of here," _the badger thought, his singular eye starting to water, "_At least...before I lose it..." _

Careful not to disturb his friends, Badgerclops quietly began his descent from the top bunk. His claws gently scraped across the wooden beams of the bunk bed's frame, softly echoing through the room. Eventually, the badger made contact with the wooden floor below, his weight causing a small, audible thud to ring out across the room.

Badgerclops shot his claws up to his mouth, glancing back at his friends in unease. Thankfully, the co-heroes were still snoozing comfortably on the bottom bunk. Wiping away some of the beads of sweat lining his forehead, Badgerclops speedily made his way out of the bedroom, stealthily navigating the rooms of HQ before finally arriving at the Garage entrance. Without any hesitation, the badger jumped onto one of the metal poles, beginning his quick descent deep underground.

* * *

What should have been a relatively quick procedure had now turned into an extraneous one. Badgerclops had been working on his prosthetic removal for at least an hour now, desperately prying at the side of his cybernetic arm. The sound of scraping metal had interrupted the silence of the night, echoing throughout the thick, wooden walls of HQ.

"Come on, you stupid thing!" the badger muttered, a hint of urgency coating the tone of his voice. He was now working on the final bolt that held the metal holster to his body. Normally, he would just have taken his arm off first before even attempting to remove the holster, but unfortunately, it had jammed within the mechanism which held the release switch in place.

As the small work wrench worked faster and faster, the tension in the room grew rapidly. Badgerclops' breathing became more erratic and shallow. The stupid bolt wasn't coming off, and the badger knew he wouldn't be able to get it off through conventional means. Now, with brows furrowed and fleshy arm gripping the holster, the large badger began to pull at the holster with all of his might. As he pulled harder, he could feel the neural connections within the holster disconnect from his body, causing an intense, sharp pain to rush through his body. Badgerclops began to whimper as he felt the holster slip away from his body. He knew then and there that there was no escape from the pain unless he finished what he had started. After a minute of pure agony, Badgerclops gave one final pull on his holster before it flew off and hit the ground with a thud. Putting his paw over his mouth, he howled in pain, collapsing to the floor.

After a short moment of exhilarating pain, the badger finally was able to regain some of his strength, at least enough to get up from the cold floor of the garage. He shakily made his way to the desk chair on the other side of the garage, gasping as he sunk into the large swivel chair. Badgerclops rested his upper body on the large desk in front of him, his fleshy arm shaking erratically as he reached towards the small, wooden shelves that Mao Mao has hastily constructed for his friend, where the medical supplies were located. After opening the small container, he carefully took out the tube of soothing ointment that he had saved for occasions like this.

Badgerclops squeezed a generous amount of ointment onto his fleshy paw, and slowly worked it into his exposed tissue. He sighed as the ointment began to dull some of the pain away. After a few minutes, the pain that had previously ravaged his body was little more than a dull aching. Badgerclops allowed himself a moment of peace, sitting quietly in the bright, orange-hued lights of the garage. "_Hah...how stupid was that." _he thought, looking at the cold floor beneath his feet.

After clearing his mind, the badger was about to get up to retrieve his cybernetic arm when he heard shuffling from behind his chair. He snapped his head around his chair to look at what had been standing there, but alas, there was nothing to be seen. The badger scratched his chin as he hummed in confusion. Thoughts rapidly raced through his mind.

"_Did someone break into into the house?" he pondered "Wait! Did Mao forget to lock the door again...or was that my job this week?" _

He quietly surveyed the area until he set his eyes on the Aerocycle, it's green paint shimmering against the bright lights hanging on the garage ceiling. It was now extremely obvious to see the black figure clinging closely against the back of the central frame. Badgerclops sighed.

"Mao, you can come out, I know you're there dude." the badger whispered. No response - the only audible noise in the room were the soft, erratic breaths emanating behind the green vehicle.

Without warning, Badgerclops' scooped up Mao Mao with his singular arm and pulled him from his hiding place. "Grah, stop it!" the cat struggled as he attempted to slither out from his fluffy prison.

"Come on, you know you like when I cuddle with you, man." Badgerclops giggled.

"I do not!" Mao retorted.

The badger sat Mao Mao on his lap, and then without any warning, placed his large, yet delicate claws on Mao's forehead and began to stroke through the feline's soft, ebony fur. Mao Mao let out an instinctual purr as he felt a warm feeling envelope his insides. Badgerclops snickered at his reaction, which led to Mao's face becoming a deep shade of crimson.

As the black cat finally resorted to his fate, he looked up and observed his friend. Badgerclops' fur was heavily ruffled around his neck, and he could see that the badger's fur was matted around his eye. The badger wore a forced smile, desperately trying to alleviate the tension of the situation that they both found themselves in. As the black cat traced his eyes along his friend's strong form, his eyes widened at the exposed stump where normally the metallic cybernetics would have rested. The fleshy mound of scar tissue was heavily irritated - red and scratchy to the touch.

"That doesn't look good." Mao Mao said dryly.

"Don't worry Mao, it's really nothing."

"_Liar."_ Mao Mao jided mentally. When Mao Mao glanced back at the badger's face , he noticed how soft, yet forlorn Badgerclops' eyes were. _"He's obviously hiding something...but what-" _

"Hey, um, I'm sorry if I woke you up or anything." Badgerclops said in a hushed whisper. "Why don't we just go back upstairs and call it a night?"

"Stop." Mao Mao shushed, putting his gloved finger to Badgerclops' lips, "If all you're going to do is lie to me, I don't want to hear it." Badgerclops froze, "Tell me the truth."

In that moment, both of them will completely silent. The only audible noise that could be heard was the heavy breathing of Badgerclops'. Badgerclops could only be in awe of the vindictiveness of those crimson stained eyes. He allowed himself a moment to be immersed in the earnestness of his friend's plea, before finally breaking the silence.

"Alright...this isn't gonna be pretty." Badgerclops began.

"I don't care, stop hot-dogging and tell me what's on your mind."

"Alright...so lately, my "thing" has been bothering me." The badger motioned to his stump. "And to be honest, it's brought up some memories that I really don't like to relive."

"You mean...from when you were in the Thicket Thieves?"

"No, no…" he responded, "I mean, from like, when I was a kid."

Mao Mao let out an audible gasp before covering his mouth in embarrassment.

"Wait, no, you can't be serious. Are you telling me that you lost your arm when you were a kid?"

"Yeah..."

An awkward silence enveloped the space that the two occupied. Mao, of course, didn't know how to respond to the Badger's statement. To be honest, he was in a state of shock. He never knew the Badgerclops' childhood had been that serious as he lead on to it being. There was always talk about favorite video games and music from his childhood, but nothing substantial about his personal problems, excluding the whole Thicket Thieves ordeal. Mao Mao mentally cursed himself, how'd he not managed to ask about his past sooner, especially with Badgerclops helping him so much with his problems. He knew he had an opportunity to pay back Badgerclops for some of his help.

"Well...um..do you want to talk about it? I mean, it might make you feel a little...better?" Mao Mao mentally face-palmed. "_Smooth move…" _he jabbed at himself. Mao expected Badgerclops to instantly reject his offer, but was shocked to see a small smile appear on his face.

"Yeah, man...that would be cool." he stopped petting Mao's head before motioning to Mao Mao's back.

"You mind if I, um, hug you while I talk? Badgerclops asked

"Well, I mean, you've never asked before."

"True…"

He quietly wrapped his arm around his friend and brought him close to his chest. Once again, that safe and warm feeling returned to Mao Mao, and in this instance, to Badgerclops as well. As much as Mao Mao used to hate Badgerclops' excessive affection, he had actually grown to enjoy it. In addition, he realized that it probably made Badgerclops feel the same way that he did. The duo both got comfortable in the chair before Badgerclops began his story.

"It was an average day at my elementary school, really...I was by myself eating lunch while the other kids were playing kickball."

The badgers face again sunk into a forlorn expression. Mao Mao reached his hand up and stroked the badger's cheek. With a short sigh, he continued.

"I was kind of the outcast out of everyone in the school. Everyone treated me...differently. Mostly because of my eye."

Mao Mao's eyes narrowed as he continued to intently listen.

"It first...it was just teasing when I messed up reading when I was in class, but as school progressed, it turned into a full-scale bullying."

"Yeah, those beatings weren't all that fun." The badger nervously chuckled.

"_Those bastards…" _Mao Mao angrily thought, continuing his stroking.

"Anyway, back to where I was. So I was sitting, chowing down on my second sandwich I'd packed when suddenly, I heard some screaming coming from the playground. I turned to see a monster had managed to get into the schoolyard. All of the kids were in a panic, scrambling all over the playground. Teachers were panicking, trying to get all of the kids inside the school."

"They managed to get most of the kids inside, but it wasn't before the monster had cornered someone in my class. They were in hysterics, screaming for help - but none of the teachers could get close without being put in danger."

"What?!" Mao interrupted, "A teacher's top priority should be to protect their students…" Mao Mao stopped himself, "..well I mean, in some cases, not all of them do, but continue."

"Alright...so this kid looked like he was going to become monster food real fast. Of course, none of the teachers were going to do anything, so I took it upon myself to try and save this kid. I rushed over to where the monster was and rammed myself into it."

Mao Mao went wide-eyed.

"Thankfully, my distraction was good enough for that kid to get out of there, but now, that monster was furious. As soon as it regained its strength...it..it…"

The badger let out a choked sob, covering his face with his fleshy paw.

On the inside, Mao Mao's instincts were screaming at him to do something. The raw emotion that he was witnessing right in front of him was just like his own. The pain, the anguish, the dread, everything that his own childhood had held, was now on display right in front of him - instead it was tormenting his best friend, and not himself

The frail cat wished he could slash the darkness away with his sword, or at least cast the darkness into himself. "Nobody deserves this kind of trauma." Mao Mao thought "...especially Badgerclops. He's too gentle for this kind of thing."

Mao Mao's mind was racing, his heart was beating. What should he do? What _could _he do? He felt like if he did anything, his actions would lead to something going wrong either way. The small hero felt trapped in his own mind, strangled by the confines of his own emotions. It felt like he was powerless.

Until a thought popped into his head.

"_A hero does what's right, even if it crushes them inside..."_

" _...Even if it crushes them inside..."_

He remembered that day, when he and Badgerclops first arrived in Pure Heart Valley and met Adorabat. That sacrifice that he had made - no matter how much defending the valley clouded his path to legend, he would do it. No matter how much it hurt him or how uncomfortable it was - he would just do it. Because it _was _the right thing to do.

And that right now, he should be doing what was right.

Shaking, Mao Mao wrapped his arms around his friend's neck and pulled him close, catching the badger off guard. The cat's lanky arms stroked the badger's soft, white fur which adorned his head. "Hey, you don't have to continue if you don't want to," the cat whispered, with tears running down his cheeks "If you just need to let it out - I'm, I'm right here for you. I'll be here for you, always..."

"Mao…" the badger choked, slowly returning the hug that the feline was providing. Their embrace was awkward, the black cat leaning over the badger, kneeling on his friend's lap. But it didn't matter - all that mattered was the intent. The tears, again, began to flow, but this time they came easier.

A soft rain began to patter outside as both Mao Mao and Badgerclops cried into one another. Their cries echoed throughout the garage and up throughout HQ, creating a soothing ambience that contrasted the pure emotion being released.

After a few moments, which seemed like hours to the two heroes, both of their cries had been reduced to nothing more than a few sniffles. Mao Mao released his embrace and glanced up to his co-hero.

"You good?" the feline whispered, wiping the remaining tears from his friends cheeks.

"Yeah, thanks man, I really needed that."

After sitting with one another for a few more moments, the ebony cat darted his eyes toward the Lucky Ducky clock hanging above the doorway which led upstairs. Through strained eyes, it read _**3:05 AM.**_

After blinking tiredly for a few moments, the cat turned back to his friend.

"Well, damn, it's already this late, huh…"

"Yeah, guess time goes by quickly when we get all smultzy and emotional like this."

"Hah, guessed so..." Mao chuckled. "Well, I've got patrol duty tomorrow morning, I'm going to hit the hay. You coming up?"

"Yeah, I'll deal with the arm tomorrow." Badgerclops replied, rubbing the back of his neck, "Heh, now I feel bad for having you stay up and deal-"

"Nope, don't want to hear it." Mao Mao said with a smile, "Take this as paying back an IOU, for all my emotional outbursts."

"Uh...you don't have to pay me-"

"I'm just joking," the feline laughed, "but seriously, come to me if you have anything on your mind, I'm here to listen."

"Huh, didn't expect you to be this much of a softie."

"Don't push it, I'm still the battle-hardened warrior that protects Pure Heart Valley-"

"-from destruction and chaos on a day to day basis. Right?" Badgerclops finished for the cat.

"Yep." the cat replied, a blush materializing on his face.

"Glad I memorized it!" the badger grinned, gently picking up his and placing him on his shoulders. Mao Mao let his arms hang loose in front of the badger's chest, swinging quietly as Badgerclops started his ascent up the stairs, letting the soft gleam of moonlight envelop them the two made their way to their destination.

By the time the two had arrived at the bedroom, Mao Mao was already fast asleep, leaning against his friends back, purring softly in the silence of the night. Badgerclops maneuvered Mao Mao back into his bunk where he had been sleeping just an hour prior, tucking in Adorabat back into the feline's cape. After plopping himself down on the bunk with them, Badgerclops wrapped his arm around his friends, enveloping them in a soft embrace. It wasn't long before Badgerclops drifted off into his deep slumber, with that warm feeling that he had experienced before resonating deep within his heart.


End file.
